Snow and rain warnings in force as cold snap continues

Forecasters have issued warnings for snow and heavy rain in parts of the UK, with the risk of travel disruption and flooding.

A yellow Met Office warning for rain and snow came into force across Northern Ireland early on Wednesday morning while a yellow warning for rain covers southern parts of England.

Another Met Office yellow warning for snow is due to begin later across parts of Wales, the Midlands and the southern Pennines, with an ice warning for Wales also kicking in during the evening.

It comes after north-westerly winds led to a drop in temperatures across the country in recent days, with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issuing a cold weather alert covering most of England until 18:00 GMT on Friday.

Temperatures on Tuesday night dropped below -9C (16F) in parts of north-east Scotland - and many northern and central parts of the UK have seen a frosty start to Wednesday.

However, cloud amounts have been increasing from the south and west, with rain pushing in across parts of Northern Ireland, Wales and southern England, and already turning to snow over some hills.

Northern Ireland will continue to see a mix of wet and wintry weather throughout Wednesday, with persistent rain at low levels and snow over high ground, especially the Sperrins.

Flooding and travel disruption are possible, with wind gusts of 45-55mph forming an extra hazard.

Many other parts of the UK will be largely dry during the morning, but rain will turn increasingly heavy across southern counties of England.

In the wettest locations, 30-50mm (1.2-2.0in) of rain could fall, threatening to worsen the flooding issues that have plagued many areas during the first part of 2026

It will also be rather windy.

As that rain shifts northwards into Wales, the west Midlands and northern England during the late afternoon and evening, some of it will turn to snow, especially over the hills.

Several centimetres of snow are expected to accumulate over high ground, above around 150-200m elevation, with the possibility of up to 15cm over the highest ground of mid and south-east Wales, as well as Herefordshire, Shropshire and the southern Pennines.

At low levels a mix of rain and sleet is more likely, with the possibility of a little wet snow at times.

This wet and wintry mix could mean difficult travelling conditions for some during Wednesday evening and overnight, as well as possible power cuts.

Some snow could also start to affect the Peak District, Pennines and possibly south-west Scotland during the night.

There remains some uncertainty in the forecast so it will be worth keeping up to date with the hour-by-hour details on the BBC Weather website and app.

Low temperatures will remain part of the story, with the UKHSA cold alert, external covering all of England except for London and the South East.

This warns of the risk of minor impacts on health and social care services. Vulnerable people in particular may be affected by this spell of colder weather, with more use of healthcare services and an increased risk to life.

However, significantly milder weather is expected by the weekend.

Yet more heavy rain in the forecast is unwelcome news for places in southern England that are continuing to experience river and groundwater flooding due to the exceptionally wet start to 2026.

Parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland have seen more than four times their expected average rainfall for this time of year. Some places in the south-west such as Cardinham in Cornwall have seen rain every day of 2026 so far.

Around 60 flood warnings remain in force and further rain falling on saturated ground may mean this number increases through Wednesday.